British PM hosts football racism summit

David Cameron vows to stop football going back to the 'bad old days' after recent high profile EPL incidents.

Incidents of racism in football have dominated English headlines recently, most notably with former England captain John Terry, left, facing trial for racism charges, and the resignation in protest by manager Fabio Capello, right [GETTY]

British Prime Minister David Cameron pledged action to prevent the "dark days'' of racism returning to football when he hosted a summit on Wednesday to tackle the renewed problem.

The Downing Street gathering of politicians, football leaders and anti-racism campaigners comes after a spate of high-profile racism cases this season involving players and fans in English Premier League matches broadcast around the world.

"We simply cannot brush this under the carpet,'' Cameron wrote in Wednesday's edition of Britain's The Sun newspaper.

"I've no doubt that football will crack this problem - and the government stands ready to do anything it can to help.''

Terry trial

The most serious incident will be tried in court, with Chelsea defender John Terry charged with racially abusing Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand during a match in October.

"There was a time when football in our country was badly infected with racism. It took great effort from everyone involved in the game to kick it out,'' Cameron said.

"It's an achievement not every country has managed to make ... but recently racism has come back into the spotlight with cases involving some of the most famous players in football, one of which has led to the resignation of the England manager.

"There was a time when football in our country was badly infected with racism. It took a great effort from everyone involved in the game to kick it out ... we will not let recent events drag us back to the bad old days of the past. "

- David Cameron

"We will not let recent events drag us back to the bad old days of the past.''

Liverpool, the 18-time English champions, came under fire for their support of striker Luis Suarez when he was banned for eight matches for racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.

Liverpool only apologised earlier this month after a widely condemned incident in which Suarez refused to shake hands with Evra, who is black, in their first meeting since the confrontation during an October match.

"I want to be sure that when my children see their sporting heroes play, they aren't let down by foul, racist or violent behaviour on or off the pitch,'' Cameron said.

"Footballers can be great role models who the public admire. The power of sport - and sporting personalities - to do good is immense.

"But it can also go the other way. If children see bad behaviour on the television or at the stadium, they may copy it and reproduce it in the playground.''

The government will give $4.7 million toward the English Football Association's new coaching centre in a bid to encourage more people from ethnic minorities to become managers. There is not one black manager in the Premier League.

Tackling discrimination

Cameron said Wednesday's meeting is designed to “reaffirm our vigilance against racism - and all forms of discrimination.''

Among the participants will be Amal Fashanu, who recently made a documentary for British TV about homosexuality in football, 14 years after her uncle Justin committed suicide.

The career of Fashanu, the first black footballer to move in a one million-dollar transfer when he joined Nottingham Forest in 1981, faded after he publicly acknowledged his homosexuality. He was found hanged in a London garage in 1998 aged 37.

Cameron describes homophobia in football as a largely taboo topic.

"It's obviously quite unlikely that there are no gay Premiership players, and that tells you something about the tolerance within the game,'' said Steve Field, Cameron's spokesman.

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